The Lost Symbol [Hardcover]

Vehicles move through the murky night, carrying highly secret material. And that clandestine material will only be available--after midnight--to those who have signed non-disclosure notices. The plot of the new Dan Brown novel? No, it’s actually how reviewers such as myself obtained our copies of the much-anticipated The Lost Symbol, the follow-up to the Da Vinci Code. And as we read it in (literally) the cold light of dawn, we wonder: is it likely to match the earlier book’s all-conquering, phenomenal success?

Firstly, it should be noted that The Lost Symbol has incorporated all the elements that so transfixed readers in The Da Vinci Code: a complex, mystifying plot (with the reader set quite as many challenges as the protagonist); breathless, helter-skelter pace (James Patterson's patented technique of keeping readers hooked by ending chapters with a tantalisingly unresolved situation is very much part of Dan Brown’s armoury). And, of course, the winning central character, resourceful symbologist Robert Langdon, is back, risking his life to crack a dangerous mystery involving the Freemasons (replacing the controversial trappings of the Catholic Church and homicidal monks of the last book). And while Dan Brown will never win any prizes for literary elegance, his prose is always succinctly at the service of delivering a thoroughly involving thriller narrative in vividly evoked locales (here, Washington DC, colourfully conjured).

Robert Langdon flies to Washington after an urgent invitation to speak in the Capitol building. The invitation appears to have come from a friend with copper-bottomed Masonic connections, Peter Solomon. But Langdon has been tricked: Solomon has, in fact, been kidnapped, and (echoing the grisly opening of the last book) a macabre mutilation plunges Langdon into a tortuous quest. His friend’s severed hand lies in the Capitol building, positioned to point to a George Washington portrait that shows the father of his country as a pagan deity. The ruthless criminal nemesis here is another terrifying figure in Brown’s gallery of grotesques: Mal’akh, a powerfully built eunuch with a body festooned with tattoos. Mal’akh is seeking a Masonic pyramid that possesses a formidable supernatural power, and a pulse-pounding hunt is afoot, with Langdon stalled rather than aided by the CIA.

Caveats are pointless here; Dan Brown, comfortably the world’s most successful author, is utterly review-proof. And there's no arguing with the fact that he has his finger on the pulse of the modern thriller reader, furnishing the mechanics of the blockbuster adventure with energy and invention. Like its predecessor, The Lost Symbol will unquestionably be--in fact, already is--a publishing phenomenon. --Barry Forshaw

As engaging a hero as you could wish for...A narrative that can grip you like a vice --Mail on Sunday

Unputdownable...Gripping...Jaw-dropping...The blockbuster read of the year. --News of the World

You'll devour this latest offering - it's been well worth the wait. --The Sun

So compelling that several times I came close to a cardiac arrest...The Lost Symbol is as perfectly constructed as the Washington architecture it escorts us around. --Sunday Express

With best-seller status never in doubt, Brown has written another page-turner...A gripping read --BBC News

'The wait is over. The Lost Symbol is here--and you don't have to be a Freemason to enjoy it...THRILLING AND ENTERTAINING, LIKE THE EXPERIENCE ON A ROLLER COASTER' - Los Angeles Times 'Dan Brown brings sexy back to a genre that had been left for dead...His code and clue-filled book is dense with exotica...amazing imagery...and the nonstop momentum that makes The Lost Symbol impossible to put down. SPLENDID...ANOTHER MIND-BLOWING ROBERT LANGDON STORY' - Janet Maslin, New York Times

The most anticipated publication of the decade, The Lost Symbol is the stunning new thriller featuring Robert Langdon.

WHAT WAS LOST WILL BE FOUND…

Washington DC: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned at the last minute to deliver an evening lecture in the Capitol Building. Within moments of his arrival, however, a disturbing object – gruesomely encoded with five symbols – is discovered at the epicentre of the Rotunda. It is, he recognises, an ancient invitation, meant to beckon its recipient towards a long-lost world of hidden esoteric wisdom.

When Langdon’s revered mentor, Peter Solomon – philanthropist and prominent mason – is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes that his only hope of saving his friend’s life is to accept this mysterious summons and follow wherever it leads him.

Langdon finds himself quickly swept behind the facade of America’s most historic city into the unseen chambers, temples and tunnels which exist there. All that was familiar is transformed into a shadowy, clandestine world of an artfully concealed past in which Masonic secrets and never-before-seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth.

A brilliantly composed tapestry of veiled histories, arcane icons and enigmatic codes, The Lost Symbol is an intelligent, lightning-paced thriller that offers surprises at every turn. For, as Robert Langdon will discover, there is nothing more extraordinary or shocking than the secret which hides in plain sight…

The Lost Symbol is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's No. 1 international phenomenon with 81 million copies in print worldwide and the UK's biggest selling paperback novel of all time, and it will once again feature Dan Brown's unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. This book's narrative takes place in a 12-hour period, and from the first page, Dan's readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape.The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown's prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book.

'This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey', says Dan Brown himself. 'Weaving five years of research into the story's 12-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon's life clearly moves a lot faster than mine'.

WHAT WAS LOST WILL BE FOUND...

Harvard professor Robert Langdon is summoned to deliver an evening lecture in the Capitol Building, Washington DC. But within minutes of his arrival, a gruesome and disturbing discovery is made at the epicentre of the Rotunda. Langdon recognizes it as an ancient invitation, beckoning its recipient towards a long-lost world of hidden wisdom. And when Langdon's revered mentor is brutally kidnapped, he realizes his only chance to save his old friend is to accept this sinister summons...

All that was familiar is transformed into a shadowy, clandestine world in which Masonic secrets and never-before-seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth. As Langdon will discover, there is nothing more extraordinary or shocking than the secret which hides in plain sight...

A brilliantly composed tapestry of veiled histories, arcane icons and enigmatic codes, The Lost Symbol is an intelligent, lightning-paced thriller that offers surprises at every turn. This exclusive edition features photographs and illustrations, allowing the reader to explore the rich historical research from which Dan Brown drew his inspiration, and uniquely complementing the reading experience.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

WHAT WAS LOST WILL BE FOUND

The Capitol Building, Washington DC: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon believes he is here to give a lecture. He is wrong. Within minutes of his arrival, a shocking object is discovered. It is a gruesome invitation into an ancient world of hidden wisdom.

When Langdon's mentor, Peter Solomon - prominent mason and philanthropist - is kidnapped, Langdon realizes that his only hope of saving his friend's life is to accept this mysterious summons.

It is to take him on a breathless chase through Washington's dark history. All that was familiar is changed into a shadowy, mythical world in which Masonic secrets and never-before-seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth.

Dan Brown is the bestselling author of Digital Fortress, Deception Point, Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he has taught English and creative writing. He lives in New England.

Visit his UK website at www.danbrownofficial.co.uk.